More or Less?
by fluffily
Summary: They fight. He runs off alone. A group of powerful humans harboring a deep hatred for halfbreeds find him. Can Kagome reach him in time and heal fresh wounds that go deeper than the flesh? "Am I more or less... than human?" InuxKag
1. Hurt

**Give it a chance! I know, it doesn't start out so great, but you can even flame me, just review! Tell me how to make it better. I have lots of ideas for later on, but I had to start somehow. It will improve. I also don't own anything. Nothing at all. No copyright infringement intended, really. ^^ **

**-Fluffy (Yes, I'm going to call myself Fluffy now.)**

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The sun shone brilliantly in the pool of blue that was the sky, warming the serene landscape of Feudal Japan. Colorful birds were singing their cheery tunes in the tall, proud trees, clad warmly in many shades of green as well the soft pink of Sakura blossoms.

It was the middle of summer in Feudal Japan and a good day to stretch out in the sun and sleep for hours. Perfectly serene, peaceful.

"Dog-turd!"

"Mangy wolf!"

"Dog-breath!"

"Flea-bitten idiot!"

"Mutt-face!"

Two very agitated males interrupted the peace rather rudely with a long line of insults spat with growing fervor. Meanwhile, three humans, a couple small demons, and two larger demons that resembled one of the young men involved in the skirmish looked on with annoyed and slightly bored expressions.

The first one to finally speak up on behalf of all the poor creatures of the forest that up until that point had been enjoying a nonviolent summer's day was a girl with raven black hair and chocolate brown eyes dressed in a modern-day school uniform. "Will you two just give it a rest for once? You've been at it for almost an hour now!"

Both men turned to look at Kagome in surprise.

InuYasha took advantage of Kouga's moment of distraction and hit him hard enough to send him flying into a bush on the side of the road.

Kagome and company all sighed in annoyance. It occurred to Kagome that she could just sit the misbehaving hanyou to make him behave, but then, that seemed to have no effect in the long run, and anyway, Kouga didn't have any beads of subjugation that would allow Kagome to keep him under control as well. And so the fight would continue no matter what she did.

"You're gonna regret that, mutt-face!" a more-than-agitated Kouga snarled, lifting himself out of the bush, coated in leaves and twigs.

He launched himself at InuYasha, this time succeeding in pinning him to the ground.

InuYasha snarled, infuriated. "You've got five seconds to get your flea-bitten hide off of me or else."

"Oh yeah? Or else what?" Kouga retorted.

Kagome sighed. She was going to have to intervene soon. Things were getting more physical, and it wouldn't be good if anyone got hurt.

"I'll kill you!"

"Like some half-breed freak can accomplish anything like that!"

That was it. InuYasha snarled ferociously and reached for the sword at his waist.

"SIT!"

InuYasha met the ground with a resonating boom.

"Uh, I'm sorry Kouga, but maybe now would be a good time for us to go our own separate ways."

"Alright then, Kagome. Until next time." He took the girl's hand in his and kissed it lightly in farewell.

"Uh, right. See ya," Kagome agreed awkwardly, cheeks glowing.

InuYasha was on his feet just as Kouga disappeared in the distance.

Kagome turned on him.

"What was that for?! If you'd used Tessaiga you could have really hurt him!"

"Don't blame me for wanting to teach that idiot wolf a lesson! It's not like he didn't deserve it!"

Kagome could feel herself getting angry despite her resolve not to. Who could blame her? "Ugh! You are so-"

InuYasha turned away and shut his eyes as if he were trying to ignore the very ill-tempered human girl. He crossed his arms across his chest like a pouting child. "Did you hear what he called me?! You never criticize him for any of that but you get all huffy with me for wanting to teach that jerk a lesson?! Besides, that Kouga idiot started it!"

"Sit, boy!"

_Crash._

InuYasha rattled on, glaring viciously at Kagome as he lifted himself off the ground. "Doesn't take much, does it? A few compliments and your completely in love with that stupid-"

"Sit boy, sit boy, sit boy!"

InuYasha yelped as he was pressed farther into the growing depression in the flimsy dirt road.

"Maybe Kouga was right! Stupid mutt! Freak! Idiot!" This wasn't the first time he'd suggested that. Was he really so blind? Kagome clearly had no feelings like that for Kouga. He was a friend and nothing more. She was so sick of hearing the same crap from the hanyou all the time. The young priestess continued to repeat every insult Kouga had previously used and more.

By the time she had finally finished and was gasping for breath, everyone present was staring at Kagome with wide eyes (With the possible exception of Ginta and Hakkaku, who were slowly retreating with their wolves in the general direction Kouga had headed off in.). It was rare that she was this upset and she had never before insulted anyone like that, least of all InuYasha.

As for InuYasha, well, he was more than surprised. Several emotions flickered across his face: anger, hurt, confusion, fear, and shock. Finally, his expression settled into a cold, expressionless mask.

He picked himself up, trying not to wince. He faced Kagome and muttered almost inaudibly. "Fine. If that's how you feel, so be it. Don't even bother coming to look for me."

Without another word, he turned and stalked into the forest, which was suddenly as silent as a graveyard, leaving his friends staring awkwardly at each other, at the retreating hanyou, at the ground, the sky, and most of all, Kagome, who looked like someone who had just seen some random person on the street grow a third eye and fangs. _Did I really just say all that? What was I thinking?_

As soon as the silver-haired half demon was out of sight of his companions, he took off running away from them, from Kouga, and from all these people who didn't and could never understand him.


	2. Voice Inside, All Alone

**Guess what, I'm alive! *many sounds of disappointment from the few people who have happened upon this story* Oh, well fine. Anyway, I am alive and I'm finally updating. I have a major headache right now, though, so perhaps this chapter won't be quite as good as I had hoped for, but what can I say? Headaches kill me. Also, I don't own InuYasha or his adorable ears. *glare from InuYasha* Oh, well fine. Anyway, read and hopefully review. Come on, if you like it you totally owe me a review, and if you hate it... well, find the will to review somewhere deep down in your heart. *cute face* Pwease?**

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Hours later, InuYasha wandered through the forest, heading deeper and deeper, but without any particular direction in mind. He was just walking, walking, and walking to get away.

He felt a fool for letting his friends see his weakness. He remembered what his expression must have been, and he'd heard the slight unsteadiness of his own voice. He hated to appear weak to anyone. It gave them reason to scorn and mock him. And he wanted to keep his friends. _Friends?_ An inner voice mocked him, dripping with scorn. _A hanyou has no friends. You are not a friend to those humans._

This voice was one InuYasha knew well. It was the voice of many humans, adults and other children of his childhood, the voice of people today, of his powerful half-brother, of nearly every demon he'd ever come across.

It was his own voice.

InuYasha stopped walking and tilted his face up in a way that what little sunshine survived all the way to the gloomy forest floor lit up his face, making his golden eyes and silver hair seem to glow with a soft light. Though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, he stood in that manner simply to ensure that he shed no tears.

And no tears did he shed, but ever cautious, he stood in that manner, eyes full of sadness.

_So what am I really to her? Just a freak and a half-breed? In her mind, am I only there to protect her as long as she remains here in this time? Does she only keep me by her side because… because why? There's no reason for her to even keep me around if I really, truly don't mean anything to her._

_Is that why she said those things?_

_Of course it is. You're a half-breed, and she's completely human. Why would she want to be with you? Why would any of them? She really just wanted to get rid of you. And it worked. Right about now, I'd say she and her friends are pretty happy. _The cruel mental voice with its cutting remarks chimed in.

This time the hanyou spoke aloud. "No, that's wrong. Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo… they're not like that. They're better than that."

His annoyingly persistent, less-than-optimistic mental voice continued trying to quell any happiness left in InuYasha's heart. _That's true. They are. They wouldn't stoop so low as to truly become attached to a hanyou._

_No, they… _But InuYasha could feel his will to deny the depression hanging over him full access to his heart and mind slipping. He felt there was no way to deny that he and the others lived in different worlds.

InuYasha lowered his face to look around at the darkening forest. He knew he'd been off on his own for quite a while, but it surprised him that the sun already was setting.

"Should I go back now?" InuYasha inquired of the darkening forest, receiving no reply. He wasn't sure if he ever intended to go back to Kagome and the others or, if he did not, where he could go. It was a feeling the hanyou had come to know well many years ago, the feeling of knowing you were free to go anywhere you wanted but knowing that you had nowhere to go and that no matter where you did go, there were few places that you would be accepted.

Eventually, InuYasha decided that even if he did go back, now wasn't a good time. Kagome was likely still angry with him, and he was hardly prepared to face anyone's anger right then.

_Feh. She won't be at all happy to see you no mater when you go back. You may as well just stay away. That's what they all want._

Minutes later, night was heavy on the forest. InuYasha laid up in the branches of a tree, unable to find sleep, staring at one lone star that sparkled dimly, all alone as far as anyone, even a half demon, could see from under the cover of thick forest.

_It's kind of like me in a way, all alone up there, surrounded by others, but alone no matter how anyone can look at it, not shining as bright as the others but strong enough just to survive._

But as the melancholy hanyou stared up at the stars and considered only the dark sides of things, what he didn't know was just above him in the sky filled with stars all equal to each other and shining together as one in the night sky, a two-tail cat demon and all his friends - no matter how he looked at it - were searching for him, Kagome shedding tears for him.

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**Soooo, how was it? Review! ^^**


	3. A White Light? He'll return, won't he?

**Hey, I'm actually updating the day after my last update! Unbelievable, right? Hahahahaha. Okay, not that funny. Anyway, I hope I can keep this fic going well. :D Okay, well, read on to the actual story! Ohhhhh, wait, and I don't own InuYasha or anything and I'll bet there have been lots of fanfictions like this one, so just know that no copyright infringement is intended. Okay, now you can read on and you can't sue me! *disappointed groans from InuYasha characters and several people who have been reading this so far***

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_InuYasha, where could you have gone? _Kagome leaned as far over to one side of Kirara as she dared. Aloud, she called for her missing friend. "Where are you?!"

The sun had long since set and the night was a dark one. Very soon, Kagome thought, it would be the night of the new moon. Perhaps even tomorrow night. And InuYasha couldn't be alone then or he could be hurt.

Next to Kirara in the forebodingly dark sky was Miroku's close friend, Hachi, in his huge yellow form. Miroku and Shippo rode on his back. Sango was the only one accompanying Kagome on Kirara.

Every few seconds, someone would call for InuYasha, and Kirara would often express that she too missed and worried about the hanyou with a cry of her own. The one calling the most was Kagome, though.

No one had said much to her for a while after what she'd said to InuYasha, for fear that she was still angry. But after a while, the tears dripping down her cheeks and her constant need to blame herself for being an awful friend, the worst ever, totally cruel, had convinced them that it was safe, and they'd all been quick to comfort her and assure her that InuYasha was probably fine. "Just up in some tree sleeping and trying hard to keep from coming to look for us," they all said, or something to that effect.

After a while, Kagome fell silent, lost in thought, while everyone else continued to call for the half-demon.

_I just have the worst feeling. Like something really bad is going to come of all this. Why did I have to say all that to InuYasha? It wasn't even necessary. What he did wasn't really so bad. It's hard to believe he'd actually try to kill Kouga. He's just not like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he never wants to speak to me again, though. Who would? And that would be okay, if only I could know he was safe and happy._

"Kagome?"

Kagome's head snapped up, eyes widening slightly in surprise. She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed the others had all stopped calling to InuYasha as well and were watching her timidly.

"I'm sorry. What is it?"

Sango turned to look at Kagome and spoke gently to her. "Would you mind if we all just camp out for tonight? InuYasha is probably fine. I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later, and we can always continue looking for him tomorrow, but it's getting late and it won't do any good to look now. It's too dark to see anything."

A single tear slid down Kagome's face. "But... what about the new moon? It's going to be soon, and he won't be safe all alone in these forests. We hardly know what could be lurking around here."

"I know, but… well, I'm sure he can take care of himself. He's a strong fighter who never gives up easily."

Kagome had to smile at that. It was true, InuYasha was strong in more ways than just physically.

"I… guess. Sure, we can stop for tonight."

Sango smiled and Shippo piped up cheerfully. "Don't worry, Kagome. InuYasha may act hot-headed and rude, but really he can't keep away for long without missing you."

"You all, too," Kagome almost whispered. She stared down at the forest. No flash of tell-tale red or disturbance in the trees.

Then… a gleam of silver?

InuYasha?

No, too bright and cold. Like metal. A weapon of some army taking the short way to a battle by cutting through the forest? Possibly. In any case, it was clear to the fifteen-year-old girl that the light wasn't anything that could lead her to InuYasha, and therefore it was of no consequence to her.

"This looks like a good enough place to spend the night," Miroku noted, cutting into Kagome's speculations.

Both Kirara and Hachi drifted toward the ground and landed in a small clearing surrounded on all sides by trees.

Kagome couldn't help but notice that where they had landed was very close to where the light had been. She had to remind herself that it was probably only an army of human soldiers and they most likely wouldn't care to start a fight with a small group of innocent travelers.

Even if they did, everyone could fight them off easily, and just as Sango and the others had said, InuYasha would be back soon and could protect them if need be.

_Right, of course he'll be back. He knows we'll all be worried about him and he doesn't like to be away from all of us. I shouldn't worry._

At that time, the young priestess had no notion of how completely wrong she was.

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****Hey, so I know I'm kind of dragging it on a little unnecessarily long and you all want something to actually happen, but rest assured, I'm getting there. I'll make something more important happen next chapter. :D So. Review. Or. I. Will. Go. Jump. Off. A. Cliff. Aw, just kidding. I wouldn't do that until my stories were all done. :D But seriously, review or else.**


	4. Stranger

**I am soooo late on updating, but I've got this other fanfiction started and I just had to update it, too, since the last update was only the second chapter… Well, don't hurt me, I like this one better, and here I am updating. You should see how long it used to take me to update fanfictions for Twilight. ^^* Those stories, looking back, really sucked anyway. Hahahaha. But still, when this and the other InuYasha fanfictions are done, I will go back to updating those… heck, you all don't care about that. Back to the fanfiction. I own everything… I mean nothing. Nothing. Heh. Heh heh. No really, don't sue me, I own nothing! O_O No copyright infringement intended. :D Onward with the fanfiction now. Oh, and thus far, I don't really know how long the story will be… lemme know how long you want it to be. As in, if you want me to keep it simple, then tell me, and if you want me to let this go on a while (I'm not saying I have enough ideas to go on for like thirty or maybe even twenty chapters, but ya know.) then tell me. Now, really on with the story.**

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Hours had passed. The increasingly depressed hanyou didn't know this, but every moment he spent trying with growing desperation to sleep, time was passing quickly for him.

It was only a few short hours before the sun was to rise, and InuYasha had been awake the whole time, reading too deeply into the way everyone he knew had ever acted in his presence.

Finally, he gave up on sleep and leapt from the tree he'd been resting in, landing somewhat clumsily on the ground, exhausted. Why couldn't he just sleep?

Normally a single sleepless night wouldn't have affected InuYasha so much, but he hadn't slept the night before, either. Or the night before that, for that matter. It occurred to InuYasha that he really hadn't slept near enough, even for a demon, over the course of the past week or so.

He'd been too busy watching _her_ sleep…

She – InuYasha couldn't bear to think of her name yet – had been sleeping restlessly lately, tossing, turning and moaning in her sleep, sometimes working up a sweat.

And he'd watched her, trying to soothe her so she wouldn't be in a bad mood when she woke up, so that they wouldn't have to fight, whispering softly in her ear and moving out of sight whenever she woke up. He did his best never to wake her up, though, because if he was caught, she'd do worse than sit him.

He stood there, absentmindedly toying with the beads of subjugation held in place by a powerful spell around his neck.

He sometimes wished for Kagome to remove the beads, to show him she trusted him not to get into trouble, to show him she wished for his happiness.

It never, ever happened. Not even almost.

Swaying a little, InuYasha started to wander aimlessly once more, part of him hoping he might run into his friends, part of him trying not to feel anything.

Then both parts of him heard something, detected an unfamiliar scent in the air that was immediately distrusted, caught a glimpse of cold light, like moonlight reflected off of a weapon.

InuYasha turned, suddenly more aware than he had been before – but aware enough?

"So, the half-breed's finally noticed us. About time, too. It's no fun catching them when they don't even know it," a voice mocked.

InuYasha looked around for the source of this voice. It was a man's deep voice, amused, yet full of disgust.

Disgust at him? InuYasha blinked. But who could it be? The voice was not familiar to him. Or was this to be a day like every day of his childhood, when strangers would shun or hurt him as soon as look at him. It occurred to the hanyou that in his current state, he was ill prepared to ward off anyone looking to take him down.

Then his mind processed the man's words. _…catching them..._

There was a slight disturbance in the air behind InuYasha. He spun around to face what was coming at him.

He was just a fraction of a second too late.

The knife went right through him and emerged again from his back.

He cried out and stumbled, coughing up blood. The metal of this knife burned like nothing else he'd ever felt. Only one thing hurt worse than the physical torment.

_Kagome… Wait… I do… Want to come back… I'm sorry…_

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** I am evil. Okay, well, I know this was short, but I'll try and update again real soon! :) REVIEW. Thank you, have a nice day! :)**


	5. Unwarranted Cruelty

**I'm baaaack! I feel good, these updates come pretty quick in comparison to my old (incomplete) stories. Hey, I don't own anything, no copyright infringement intended, so no suing me. Ahahaha, I will go on with the story now. I have nothing more to say except thank you!!!! I am grateful for all the reviews, hopefully I will reach a hundred like I have on my other story, the one for Twilight. Okay, now, listening to a song from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Which I've never even watched.), I will go on with the story for real this time! :D ONE MORE THING. Sorry, sorry. I just thought I might mention that there is a little bit of cursing in this chapter. Sorry, I'll try to go easy on the bad words.**

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Light, shapes, blurred and unfocused, slowly becoming clear. Sounds, indistinct and seeming slurred, slowly becoming clear, cutting comments. Panic, fear, nausea, longing, and confusion, unable to register what was going on around him.

There was a stabbing agony in InuYasha's chest. He felt it especially whenever he thought of his friends and Kagome.

"Kagome…"

How long had he been unconscious?

"What was that, mutt?" a now-familiar and hated voice inquired, filled with amusement, annoyance, disgust. InuYasha opened his eyes slightly just as the man turned away.

The man who'd spoken was now facing another man, his expression matching the tone of his voice. "Stupid thing shouldn't be talking so soon after I cut it. Good knife. Certainly didn't take much effort to take this one down, though. If it's lame, it won't be worth much. I do suppose we can have some fun disposing of it if all else fails."

The other man laughed. "That we can."

_It? _InuYasha thought, confused. Couldn't they see he was male?

The man InuYasha didn't recognize turned and strode over to him, grabbing his hair and using it to drag him to his feet.

"Hey, Arashi, check out its ears," the man laughed, still holding InuYasha up with one hand while with the other he reached out and yanked on one of the velvety ears, hard.

InuYasha yelped. His ears were one of the most sensitive parts of his body.

"Oh, does that hurt? My apologies," the man laughed, yanking harder.

"Hibiki, drop it. We need the mutt in one piece when we bring him to the headman."

The man called Hibiki released InuYasha's now sore ears and let him fall to the ground, unable to hold himself up alone.

InuYasha felt hatred toward these people. They had no right to hurt him, insult him, when they didn't even know him. He opened his mouth to speak his thoughts, but Arashi darted forward and slapped him hard across the face. "Speak when you're spoken to, half-dog!"

InuYasha's head snapped to the side, and he blinked, shocked, the side of his face where the man, Arashi, had slapped him stinging.

Hibiki smirked. "You'd better learn some manners, mutt, or you'll get far worse than that."

Enough was enough. InuYasha turned his head back to glare at both men with as much ferocity as he could muster before he drew back his hand, now a ready fist, and threw it forward with all the strength of his raging emotions.

It really hit home, knocking Hibiki backward. He grunted, then remained motionless, unconscious.

"You bastard," InuYasha growled, breathing hard. Whatever had been done to him, it made him even weaker than he'd been before, exhausted _and _drugged.

Arashi took a step back, visibly caught off guard and frightened of the enraged hanyou. _Good, _InuYasha though._ He should be. They caught me in a really bad mood._

Arashi didn't stay frightened for long, though. The next second, he had taken a cruel-looking knife from a pouch attached to his armor.

"Do you know what this is, half-breed?" Without waiting for an answer, he went on to say, "It's a knife made of a special metal. Given to me as a gift by our good headman."

InuYasha stood, wary of his enemy, sure that Arashi's knife would be no match for his Tessaiga anyway, just waiting for him to let down his guard, but the man just went on talking. "This metal has an interesting effect on half-breeds. Seems to hurt quite a bit. It's the same knife I used on you last night. Do you know where you are, flithy mutt? You are in a village that survives on hunting and selling half-breeds. We do benifit from selling poisons and medicines, spells, and weapons, but things like you are a bit more important to the financial well-being of our village."

"Why do you gotta keep talking? You must really love the sound of your own voice, 'cause since I'm not sticking around, I don't need or want to hear any of this," InuYasha said, his hand lingering on Tessaiga.

"Hmph. Don't even think about using that rusty old sword. It wouldn't stand a chance against any of the weapons we have around here."

InuYasha looked down at Tessaiga, still sheathed at his waist. He smiled and unsheathed his sword. "Think so, you-" He stopped talking abruptly, shell-shocked. "What?!"

_Why isn't Tessaiga transforming for me?!_

Arashi smiled, seeing his chance.

InuYasha collapsed a fraction of a second later, a cry of agony escaping him.

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**Review, for this was a pretty long chapter (Sorry, not one of my best yet.). And by the way, I can tell you what those names I gave my own characters mean. Arashi means storm, Hibiki means echo or sound (Because being introduced, I first saw him as sort of the henchman of Arashi, so****…**** echo, if you can understand my reasoning.). Sorry if the names I used are also the names of characters in other animes or mangas. Tell me honestly how this chapter was, okay? HONESTLY. ^^ I'll update sooner next time if you are honest. Of course I won't know if you are honest or not, but... how will I improve if you don't tell me what I am doing wrong?**


	6. Enter, Myouga!

**Hey, everyone! I've been so busy with this and that and the other thing that I haven't updated or thought of updating this story in some time, so I guess I owe it to you to try and update as soon as possible. Here is the next chapter of More or Less, which will focus mostly on Myouga, because I feel he would fit in well with this story. So this chapter is called… (See, as I write this, I am coming up with it all on the spot.) Enter, Myouga! Yeah, so catchy. Okay, I own nothing. No suing (please), have a nice day, and please deposit your trash in the proper bins as you exit the theater… Oh dear, I just realized I have no clue how I am to write this. ^^* Lessee, because Myouga is just such a funny character, how do I make his entrance, well, kind of serious? Oh well, I'll listen to Evanescence and InuYasha music and come up with something.**

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The old flea, Myouga, the one who was always scared and running, the one who couldn't win a battle if not only his life but the life of his Master InuYasha depended on it, the one who had just heard talk of a malevolent group of humans hell-bent on bringing misery to and killing off half-demons, was running.

And, contrary to tradition, he was not running away.

Not today.

No, this time…

This time…

This time, no matter the danger and his own fear, it was time for him to help Master InuYasha.

He had seen the effects of these humans on a full-grown hanyou just recently, but the image of all the damage done, particularly the dead, hopeless look in the eyes would remained burned into the old flea demon's mind forever.

Could one as young as InuYasha last even as long or be as lucky as that hanyou?

"Master InuYasha!" the little demon cried for the millionth time. He had been searching without luck for so long… he was terrified he'd never find the hanyou he knew well, the one with the fire in his eyes.

Then, there, smoke rising in the distance, corrupting the calm blue of the warm summer sky.

"Master InuYasha!" Myouga cried again, filled with a small amount of relief, joy.

The joy didn't last long as he continued on, faster than before.

What could he do when he found the Master? He was too weak. He would only be able to try to keep the hanyou from the most serious damage by sucking out the poisons the humans put in his body.

And so soon, tonight or the next night, InuYasha would become human. It was hard to tell how these people would react to such a thing.

Could he go to Kagome and the others for help? Perhaps, but again, that fear that maybe if such a search failed he might return to find that he was too late for InuYasha.

They wouldn't kill him so soon, though, would they? They wouldn't crush his hopes and happiness just yet, would they? They wouldn't extinguish his fire, right?

What did they call themselves, these people? No, not people, monsters. But what did they call themselves? It was a pet peeve of Myouga's not to know everything there was to know on any one topic. He couldn't help wondering.

He would find out soon enough.

And there it was, a village without any real crops, just some odd herbs and various plants even Myouga did not recognize, a village with many buildings varying in size and shape, obviously being used to store and harm hanyous, a village unlike any the flea had ever seen.

"I've got to find Master InuYasha!" Myouga said, his voice ringing with determination.

It was some time later, as the sun was dipping lower and lower in the sky, that Myouga found the one he was looking for.

InuYasha was sprawled on the ground, inside a cage, his hair red with blood in several places. It was a sad sight indeed. Myouga leapt into the cage, slipping easily through the bars and landing by his master's side.

"Master InuYasha! Wake up! Master!" Myouga was scared they really might have decided to kill InuYasha right away, and that he was slowly dying of some sort of poison.

InuYasha stirred slightly, looking tired and disoriented.

Thank goodness.

"Master InuYasha, it's me, Myouga!"

"Myouga?" InuYasha mumbled groggily. "What are you… doing here?"

"I'm here to help! How long have you been here?!"

InuYasha didn't answer. He was staring off into the distance, his eyes glazed over. Myouga grew quiet. "Master… InuYasha? Is all well with you? Where are the others?"

InuYasha shut his eyes quickly, but Myouga saw the half-demon's eyes fill with tears. "They're all… fine. Fine without me there."

Myouga looked at InuYasha in shock.

The fire was already being extinguished. It had been fading out before these people ever found him.

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**Well, I know no one cares about Myouga, but be nice and review. I am thinking about what I am to do next. Perhaps answer questions. So, any questions, people? Any mistakes? Anything I need to clear up?**


	7. Less

**Okay, well, I was trying to make this longer, but it came out short again, with a grand total of just 540 words, not counting the notes. My goal was a thousand. Heh. **

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InuYasha watched with wide eyes as people walked by him, few even bothering to turn their attention to the hanyou in a cage in front of the headman's hut. The sun was sinking on the horizon. He wasn't sure what to feel anymore. Should he be angry, embarrassed, sad? Should he hope he could get away or should he just give it up?

Myouga hid in InuYasha's hair, insisting to the half-demon that he shouldn't lose hope, that he should be furious and show as much resistance and ferocity as he could muster.

The problem was, he couldn't muster any. He said so to Myouga, who looked at his Master in shock.

InuYasha had told the whole story, from his fight with Kagome to his encounter with Arashi and Hibiki to waking up hours later in a cage.

He'd been on the move all day, always in a cage, never told what was going on or where he was going.

Myouga had two theories for why InuYasha's sword wouldn't transform. He'd said that the Koumuruippan may have done something to seal the sword's power after they'd ambushed him in the forest during the night.

His other idea was that perhaps because of his fight with Kagome and the run-in with these people, who, they'd discovered, called themselves the Koumuruippan, InuYasha was hardly on friendly terms with humans, and therefore had no wish to protect them, no compassion for them. Which would, of course, mean Tessaiga wouldn't transform for him.

InuYasha had argued hotly with Myouga about the latter opinion, saying that he couldn't possibly not want to use his weapon for the sake of humans, and more specifically, Kagome.

_But,_ a voice in his head pointed out, _you want to use the Tessaiga to escape here just so _you _can see that girl, just so _you _can be happy. That is so like a half-dog, trying to justify your own selfishness._

That stupid voice, it was back, chastising him again for his own damn thoughts.

_And it really would be only you happy, and for how long could even that last? The human girl doesn't want you. You're an untouchable, a filthy mutt. Do you think she'd feel joy in seeing you again? And at her rejection, you'd sink lower and lower into hopeless depression, wishing for death, release from your living hell…_

_What do you want from me?! _InuYasha screamed at the voice, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it and nearly sending Myouga flying in the process.

"Master InuYasha, what ails you?!"

"Huh?" InuYasha looked at Myouga with wide eyes, then averted his attention, feeling inferior even to his little friend. After all, even old Myouga was of a higher class than him. He was a purebred, a full demon.

A thought struck the brooding half-demon as a concerned flea watched him carefully. _I wonder… am I more… or less… than human?_

He shook his head wildly again before his other mental voice could make some acidic response just as a burly man clearly more hostile than anyone else InuYasha had met all day stormed out of the hut and glared down at the hanyou.

"Hm, so this is the latest scum."

_Less. Definitely less._

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**Is this story getting too long? Review! Also, to explain better the thing about InuYasha's sword not working, I remembered that at first his sword only worked for him if he felt compassion towards, and, more importantly, wished to protect, humans. So... yep. If you still don't get it, let me know.**


	8. Human Isn't Enough

**I feel bad, this is a really late update. Please forgive me. I own nothing except my own characters Hibiki and Arashi, now on with the story!**

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He was human. He was their equal, if only for one night. If only for twelve short hours, he should have been treated well. He'd lost his dog ears, slashed to pieces by knives that burned him like nothing else, lost his fangs and claws, lost touch with his demon side temporarily. He'd begun hoping for it. He'd thought when the new moon came he wouldn't have to suffer.

He'd been wrong.

InuYasha, black hair shining with blood in the light of thousands of stars, lay on the ground in a central area of the village, whimpering slightly, whispering for Kagome.

"Please…"

_Please leave me alone. Please let me go back to Kagome. Please stop hurting me. Please… let me be with Kagome, let me be her slave if that's what it takes… just please, please… let me go back to her. Please._

"Kagome…" the boy whispered, his dark eyes closing as his entire body convulsed before going still once again, stinging, throbbing, burning.

"Kagome, eh? Sounds like a nonsense word to me. Isn't that right, Arashi?" a far-away voice laughed. It was, thankfully, not the voice of the headman who had sentenced InuYasha to die a slow, agonizing death over the course of a few months, and it wasn't the voice of Hibiki.

Just the voice of another human who despised him for the monster he knew he was.

Arashi laughed. "I'll bet. The mutt's pretty damn stupid."

_Stupid mutt. _The words echoed in InuYasha's pounding head. _Nonsense word._

He drew on his reserves of strength and courage enough to speak up. "It's _not _a nonsense word. Kagome is a real person." He wanted desperately to cry, but he hadn't done so yet, and he would never give these people that pleasure.

"Oh, are they now? A girl? Now, now. You should know that a half-dog can never have a mate," another voice laughed.

"Oi, Arata, what if this Kagome person is a half-breed too?"

"Doesn't make any difference. This mutt here will never breed. The world doesn't need more things like him."

_Thing… Half-breed… No, don't listen. Defend Kagome…_

Those two words were all InuYasha had any more. He clung to them, and gritted his teeth together while he raised himself up to look the men in the eyes. "Kagome… isn't a half-breed. She's a human. A priestess. And not one of you bastards… will ever be good enough for the likes of her…."

The knives were digging into his arms and chest before he could draw a breath. He yelped and coughed up blood, barely knowing what had hit him.

"What makes you think you are, mongrel?! That girl wouldn't want you if you were a real human! You're _that _disgusting!"

The words cut like a thousand more knives. "I guess… you're probably right…"

Myouga, hiding in InuYasha's clothing, choked back a cry of indignation.

The men, outraged at the words of the "half-mutt", swore at and insulted him, cutting him all over.

InuYasha closed his eyes and stopped trying to shield himself from the men's blows, just settling for avoiding feeling.

*

Kagome woke to her own screams. Her friends, all but one hanyou, were at her side in an instant. It wasn't the first time she'd had a violent nightmare since InuYasha left.

"Ssh…" Sango soothed her before she slapped Miroku's hand away from her friend.

"S-sango… Miroku, Shippo… I think maybe I have an idea of where InuYasha is…"


	9. Change the World

**You can't sue me, I don't own any of this... well, I own the actual words and characters like Hibiki and Arashi - villagers in the fiction -, but other than that, I don't! Thank you! And just note that the italics are a dream, but it's a dream about a real event - or rather, real for the purposes of this story. It's InuYasha's dream. I just wanted to be very clear on that. And don't worry, Kagome and everyone should find InuYasha soon! Maybe within the next five chapters!**

***cheerful smile***

***groans from reviewers* **

***backs away* **

***is killed by many torches and pitchforks***

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"_Myouga, what happened back there? Why did those people act so..." a young version of InuYasha allowed his voice to fade into silence. The flea glanced up at the hanyou's face, which, sure enough, was streaked with tears and blood, shining eerily in the moonlight._

"_You're different, Master. It's not a crime. Some people simply can't accept it, and one day they'll suffer the consequences. For now, you must remember that there are people who can care for you, both humans and youkai. You just have to look a little harder than others. It's not fair, but… there's simply nothing we can do to change the way the world works."_

_The boy's eyes closed. A final tear made its way down his cheek. "You're wrong."_

"_Don't lose hope." _

_He shook his head, opened his eyes. "You're wrong. There is a way to change the way the world is, and someday I'm going to find it." InuYasha's voice was filled with such determination. Myouga's heart ached. In this moment, the boy was so much like his father._

_Even if it was nothing but wishful thinking, it was so hard not to believe that this child _could _change things._

"_Someday," InuYasha murmured, all his fear and doubt leaving him in that last tear._

_*_

A figure stirred slightly, raised its head and stared through cold prison bars into a beautiful night sky.

Cracked, scarred lips mouthed the word. Someday.

InuYasha, his face and body made nearly unrecognizable by thousands of scars and fresh gashes, shifted into a kneeling position. Blood soaked, dirty, once-silver hair and golden eyes dulled by fear, misery, and abuse. Unfeeling, unthinking, without hope, empty.

He was alone. He didn't think about being alone. It was hard to tell whether he really realized he was alone.

Myouga had gone. InuYasha couldn't know, didn't realize, that it was because the old flea hated seeing InuYasha in so much pain. He was looking for Kagome and the others, fearing for the hanyou's life and always being weighed down by the guilt of running away.

He'd been with these creatures who called themselves human for a year exactly, come tomorrow. It was a slow death indeed. He'd be kept alive by the poison inside him, preventing his soul from leaving his body until, probably years from today, he'd die the most painful death imaginable.

Until then, his soul, spirit, and body remained in a constant state of agony, raw and pure.

So much for changing the world.

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**Okay, update or your computer will explode awesomely in about... now. :D Just kidding. But seriously, tell me how this was. This chapter inspired by the songs Tourniquet and Imaginary by Evanescence. You rock, Evanescence! You too, reviewers! *winks***


	10. Past to Present

**Inspiration for this chapter… Linkin Park, Within Temptation, and Fall Out Boy. I don't own any of those. I own nothing. We are drawing near to a milestone in this story – rescue! Hoorah! I think. We'll just see. Half the fun for me is in not knowing what's going to happen – I write these notes before the actual chapter, usually. The other half is the reviews – so review! Just a little fact, I am suffering writer's block on this story. Heh.**

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Kagome stopped walking abruptly, her brown eyes, rimmed with red – the result of many a night spent crying herself to sleep – turned toward a pillar of smoke in the distance.

Sango, Miroku, and Shippo slowed to a stop beside her, Kirara pausing to blink up at the four with curious eyes.

Kagome shook her head. "Do you think that's the right one?" Her voice was hopeless enough to indicate that she wasn't so sure it was. Clearly this would not be the first village to have been visited by the group in vain.

"What are you talking about?" Sango murmured soothingly. "There's nothing there. Just darkening sky… I'm sorry, Kagome. Perhaps tomorrow…"

Kagome blinked, her expression one of misery. "You guys don't see it, do you? Kami," she sighed, sinking to the ground. "Now I'm seeing things."

Shippo hopped onto her shoulder, green eyes wide. "We can go look for the village if you'd like, Kagome. Maybe it's some sort of barrier… you could just be seeing beyond it because of your miko powers…"

Kagome shook her head. "It's been a year. Maybe we should face it… I'm just crazy for having these dreams, and InuYasha is probably not interested in ever seeing us again… actually… probably just me."

Miroku, who had been staring hard at the place where Kagome had seen smoke, turned his gaze toward the three knelt on the ground. "We can't lose hope. You know InuYasha would at least say goodbye at some point. Something must have happened to him. He can't hold a grudge against you for a whole year."

Kagome moaned and put her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with little sobs. "That makes it worse… because he could be dying, he could be suffering, and what are we doing to help him?! Nothing! We can't find him!"

"That settles it, then," Miroku said softly, helping both girls up. Shippo clung tightly to Kagome's shoulder as she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

"Let's go check it out, Kagome. Lead the way," Sango said, and after a beat, continued, "Would it be better if we rode Kirara?"

Kagome blinked back tears. The reason they never rode Kirara anymore was because to the young priestess, it was a betrayal to InuYasha, who had always carried her everywhere in the past.

In the past… what did she have to do to make it the present once more?

"Yeah… I guess it would."

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**Very short and with different atomosphere than past chapters... but I've had a lot of stuff to do lately! Sorry. So, review! Soon, I think, should be reunion!**


	11. Emotions

**Late update, but it's been less than a week... so... I own nothing, hurry and read! Sorry if this is what you'd call a major cliffie.**

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He sat emotionlessly and thoughtlessly in the center of his prison, blood dripping from the various wounds all across his body. He'd forgotten already why he was injured. Hell, he'd forgotten already that he was injured.

His eyes were lifeless as ever. And yet his heart beat quickly and irregularly, throwing itself against InuYasha's chest like a battering ram.

A single, delicate thought fluttered to the surface of his consciousness.

_They're here._

But fragmented thoughts aren't enough, adrenaline pumping its way through a body isn't enough. No, because all he felt was a deep confusion. All he felt was lost.

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Somewhere behind her one of her friends drew in a sharp breath, a wordless expression of horror and disgust that could not be spoken of adequately in any language.

What she saw before her – death, decay, suffering – was only a fraction of the overall abhorrence she felt for her surroundings. The feelings that surrounded it, the emotions too deep not to drown in, strangled her.

Her breath came raggedly. It wasn't just the suffering that chilled her to the bone, it was the lack thereof obviously experienced only by the humans who lived and worked in the village. It was the hatred, the prejudice, the unfairness.

"It's so much worse than I believed it would be. Kagome… you must know… that the villages of true demon slayers are never like this…" she heard Sango murmur, and when Kagome turned around, she saw the tears sparkling at the corners of the eyes of all her friends.

She could feel _his _tears somewhere near… oh, so near…

Faintly she was able to recall that on their way to the source of the smoke dancing on the horizon, they had been greeted by the flea demon. It was so hard to care, so impossible to even feel joy knowing it, that InuYasha was here, that soon it would all be over.

"_He's there. He's waiting for all of you in the village. Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, make haste! This village… it's enough to break even one as strong as InuYasha."_

She remembered the words, the mixed joy and shock she'd felt. The guilt, the relief. The question she'd asked. The answer.

"_Myouga, why? Why am I the only one who's able to see it?"_

The flea had considered it for a moment before replying.

"_Emotions are stronger than the most powerful barrier. Stronger, perhaps, than your own powers as a priestess is the power of your bond with InuYasha."_

She wouldn't think about it too hard. If her feelings for InuYasha were so powerful, that was fine. If it was only her powers as Kikyou's reincarnation, that, too, was fine.

Either way, InuYasha would be free soon.

But was that really true? Could he possibly be free emotionally, as well? Would the scars on the inside be more permanent than those that only went skin-deep?

After all, you can't escape your past.

You can never, ever, escape your past.

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**REVIEW!!! O_O Plz! Just kidding. I'll use proper english. Review please, my dawlings. Okay, that was a spazz attack... just review. Ignore this stupid note.**

**But not the part about reviewing.**


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